'The Sheikh of the Slaughterers': Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi and the Al-Qa'ida Connection

By:
Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli*

Introduction

Shortly
after the occupation of Iraq
in April 2003, Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi
emerged as a leading terrorist in that country. While a number of terrorist
organizations are operating in Iraq besides the insurgency movement led by
Saddam's former intelligence and loyalist groups, Al-Zarqawi's
organization combines terrorist activities with an ardent anti-Shi'ite zeal designed to instigate a civil war between the
Iraqi Sunnis and the Shi'ites.

This
paper explores Al-Zarqawi's words and actions and his
linkage with al-Qa'ida under the leadership of Osama
bin Laden. Al-Zarqawi initially operated
independently of al-Qa'ida. But recently, bin Laden named
him the Amir, or commander, of Al-Qa'ida
in Iraq.
The meaning of this is not clear. Has bin Laden
elevated Al-Zarqawi because of his increasing
notoriety and his influence among potential Jihadist
elements, hoping to forestall his emergence as the single most important
terrorist figure? Or does Al-Zarqawi need bin Laden's endorsement to strengthen his grip on the terrorist
activities in Iraq?

All
the groups currently involved in Iraq as national insurgents or
foreign, primarily Islamist, terrorists share a common purpose designed to
destabilize the country by:

Murdering
the leaders of the country and members of the security forces and terrorizing
innocent civilians

Destroying
the infrastructure and delaying reconstruction

This
report focuses on Al-Zarqawi's biographical
background including his terrorist activities in Iraq and their religious Islamist
roots.

Background
– The Life of Al-Zarqawi

The
London daily Al-Hayat recently published a three-part
study of the Salafi Jihad movement in Jordan,
authored by the daily's correspondent Hazem Al-Amin.Thanks to that study's particular focus on the city of
Al-Zarqaa, the birthplace of Abu Mus'ab
Al-Zarqawi, much is now known about Al-Zarqawi's earlier life and background. [1]

Al-Zarqawi – birth name, Ahmad FadhilNazzal Al-Khalayla – was
born in 1966 into the Abu Al-Hassan tribe He spent
his formative years in the poor section of Al-Zarqaa
known as the Al-Ma'ssoum Quarter before moving, as a
teenager, to the New Al-Zarqaa Quarter. He was forced
to leave secondary school to assist his family. He is said to have seven
sisters and two brothers. His father practiced traditional medicine. [2] Al-Zarqawi's two families (two wives and their respective
children) are alleged to be in Iraq
in safe places, but Al-Zarqawi does not move around
with them for security reasons. [3] He is said to have four children – two
daughters and two sons C with his first wife. They are Amina
(14), Rawdha (11), Muhammad (9), and Mus'ab (7). With his second wife he has one son, Khalid. [4]

Most
accounts of the young Al-Zarqawi refer to his
drinking habits and his inclination to engage in brawls, particularly when
inebriated. In his 20s, impressed by the stories about the Jihad in
Afghanistan, Al-Zarqawi began to show signs of religiosity,
and in 1989, at the age of 23, he and a number of friends traveled to
Afghanistan but arrived too late to participate in the Jihad against the
Russians. To quote the Iraqi daily Al-Mada, Al-Zarqawi has transformed himself from extreme depravity to
extreme Islamism. [5]

His
trip to Afghanistan
was facilitated by a recruiting office called "The Office of Services and
Jihad," which was run by Sheikh AbdAl- Majid Al-Majali, a.k.a. Abu Qutaiba. Abu Qutaiba was a
follower of Sheikh Dr. AbdallahAzzam,
the leader and founder of the Arab volunteers' movement for the Jihad in Afghanistan, who managed the MaktabKhadamat Al-Mujahideen (Mujahideen Service Bureau) in Peshawar, Pakistan.
The bureau served as the main clearing house for Jihad fighters heading to Afghanistan.

The
city of Al-Zarqaa is
located 15 miles northeast of Amman, the capital
of Jordan,
close to the Iraqi border and not too far from the Syrian border. The fact that
it is also near the Al-Ruseifa Palestinian refugee
camp may have led some observers to identify Al-Zarqawi
as Palestinian. Of all the areas from which young Jihadists
have come, the cities of Al-Zarqaa and the nearby
city of Al-Salt and the Al-Ruseifah
camp may have sent the largest number of youths to fight in Iraq. It is
estimated that at least 300 left Al-Zarqaa and Al-Ruseifa to fight in Afghanistan
and Chechnya
as mujahideen. Many of those who returned from Afghanistan, the so-called "Afghani
Arabs," proceeded to post-war Iraq to join the Jihad. Indeed, the
occupation of Iraq has
unleashed pent-up hatred for the U.S.
among young Muslims who can easily traverse the border to Iraq. For many
of these Jihad fighters, Al-Zarqawi has become
"their Imam and their leader who spills the blood of the enemies of Islam
like no other mujahid." [6]

The
Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood

According
to Al-Hayat, the events of September 1970 in Jordan, known as "Black September,"
played a significant role in the strengthening of the Salafi
movement in Jordan,
and particularly in al-Zarqaa. [7] King Hussein
rewarded the Muslim Brotherhood for their support in the war against the
Palestinian organizations with the post of ministry of education, which had
great influence on the values of the young generation.

But
it was the Salafi element of the Muslim Brotherhood
known as "the Qutbis" named after the
Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader SayyidQutb, author of the book Ma'alim
'ala al-tariq (Milestones on the Road), who provided
the spiritual and ideological underpinnings for the Salafi
movement.

As
head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and a suspect in the attempt
on the life of Gamal Abdul Nasser, Qutb was eventually executed in 1966. Years later, he was
succeeded by AbdallahAzzam,
who subsequently came to be known as the "teacher" of Osama bin
Laden. Azzam, the reviver of Jihad in the twentieth
century, was blown up in his car with his two sons in Peshawar in November 1989.

The
Impact of the Kuwait
War on the Al-Zarqawi Organization

Following
the defeat of Saddam and the liberation of Kuwait in 1991 the Kuwaiti
government expelled 250,000 Palestinians who had Jordanian citizenship, many of
them teachers and other professionals. According to Hazem
Al-Amin's Al-Hayat article,
some 160,000 of these displaced persons came to Al-Zarqaa
alone. A connection has been established, Al-Amin
claims, between their return and the flourishing of the Salafi
Jihad trend in Jordan,
particularly in Al-Zarqaa. This trend was perceived
by many in Jordan
as "a turning point in social change." A survey conducted by the JordanCenter
for Research at the University of Jordan found that beginning in 1993, the youth in Jordan
"became more conservative than the youth of preceding generations, with a
large percentage of them supporting polygamy and giving priority to educating
boys rather than educating girls."

Among
the returnees from Kuwait
were also some who belonged to the Jihad movement, and they were headed by Issam Muhammad Taher Al-Burqawi, who acquired the name of Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi. Al -Maqdisi, a
Palestinian, became the spiritual teacher of this movement in Jordan and
eventually the spiritual leader of Al-Zarqawi.

Al-Maqdisi went to Afghanistan with the Palestinian
Sheikh Omar Mahmoud Abu Omar, (known as Abu Qatadah). When Al-Maqdisi
returned to Kuwait and,
eventually, to Jordan, Abu Qatadah found refuge in London (he is currently under house arrest).
These two figures became the main sources of authority of the Salafi Jihad ideology in Jordan. Prior to his return to Jordan, Al-Maqdisi was
either connected with or a member of Jam'iyat Al-Turath Al-Islami (The Society of
Islamic Heritage), considered the principal Salafi
organization in Kuwait.
The Society was directed by Sheikh Abd Al- RahmanAbd Al-Khaleq,
an Egyptian who came to Kuwait
in the 1960s and helped
bring "Jihadi thought" to the Palestinian
youth in Kuwait.
Among the other returnees from Kuwait
were Abu Anas Al-Shami, the
Shari'a authority of Al-Zarqawi's
group, who was killed in Baghdad;
Abu Qutaybah, senior military official in Al-Zarqawi group; and Ghazi Al-Tawbah,
whose exact expertise is not known. These three, together with Al-Zarqawi, were the nucleus of the Jihadi
movement in Al-Zarqaa.

Arriving
in Jordan from Kuwait in 1991, Al-Maqdisi
embarked upon organizing a Salafi movement among the
Palestinians and Jordanians who had returned from the Jihad in Afghanistan.
Among them was Al -Zarqawi. For those involved in
this effort, says Al-Hayat, the period was known as
"the beginning of the Da'wa (Islamic
propagation) – an intensive effort to introduce young men to the concepts of Salafi Jihad.

Despite close monitoring by the Jordanian intelligence
services, supporters of the Salafi Jihad movement and
of Al-Zarqawi gathered in Al-Zarqaa
regularly to express their desire to join the fields of Jihad – if only the
opportunity would present itself.
Most of them were bearded and the length of their beard was in accordance with
the Shari'a (Islamic law) – longer than the grasp of
one's hand.

Al-Zarqawi's Imprisonment and Emergence as Amir

Perhaps
one of the most prominent of the clandestine organizations established in Jordan was the Tawheed (Monotheism) organization, later renamed Bay'at Al-Imam. It was founded by Al-Maqdisi
in 1992 and joined by Al-Zarqawi in 1993, shortly
after his return from his first visit to Afghanistan. In 1994, Jordanian
security services uncovered weapons in the possession of these two men. They
were imprisoned in the Al-Sawwaqa desert prison until
1999. During the period of their incarceration, the two managed to organize a
sizable number of activists. In their activity among the prisoners, the two
relied on Al-Zarqawi's strong-arm tactics and on his
familiarity with the world of the hoodlums, among whom he had lived in his
youth. [8]

Al-Hayat cites a man called Abu Othman who was in prison at
the time Al-Maqdisi and Al-Zarqawi
were incarcerated. According to him, Al-Maqdisi's
personality was kind, gentle and non-confrontational. By contrast, Al-Zarqawi showed strength and toughness, in addition to being
confrontational. Abu Othmam added that the tribal
personality of Abu Mus'ab made it possible for him to
extract oaths of allegiance (mubaya'a) from others
within the prison. The youths surrounding him in prison, who were Jihad
fighters, accepted Al-Zarqawi as Amir
or commander because of his strength and determination, and the perception that
he was a man of action; in contrast, Al-Maqdisi was
perceived as the scholar. For this reason, Al-Maqdisi
surrendered the Imara ("emirate") over the
group to Al-Zarqawi in 1996. Under the rule of the Imara, the master, Al-Maqdisi,
was obliged to receive the orders of his former student, Al-Zarqawi.

The
Herat Camp in Afghanistan – The Melting Pot of
the Zarqawiyoon ["Zarqawis"]

In
1999, Al-Zarqawi and many of his cohorts received a
royal amnesty, and shortly afterwards he traveled to Peshawar,
Pakistan, intending to
proceed to Chechnya
which was becoming a hot spot for Jihadists. However,
before he could fulfill his wish he was arrested by the Pakistani police. At
this point, he decided to proceed to Afghanistan
for the second time rather than return to Jordan. [9]

While
many of the Jihad fighters who went to Afghanistan
took the oath of allegiance (mubaya'a) to Osama bin
Laden, Al-Zarqawi, with the approval of the Taliban
government, chose to operate his own camp in Herat. It was in Herat, says Al-Hayat, that Al-Zarqawi
established himself as a leader of his group known as Jund
Al-sham, or the Army of the Sham (historically, the area known as Al-Sham
covered Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine).The camp's leadership nucleus, besides
Al-Zarqawi, consisted mostly of those from the city
of Al-Zarqaa, such as Abd
Al-HadiDaghlas, a
Palestinian who was killed in Iraq; Khalid Al-'Arouri (Abu Al-Qassim) currently
being held in Iran; and YassinJarrad
(Sheikh Yassin), the father of Al-Zarqawi's
second wife who, according to the Jihad fighters in Al-Zarqaa,
carried out the September 2003 suicide attack that killed Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir Al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council of the
Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), and dozens of other Iraqis in the city of Najaf. [10]

Zarqawi
in Iraq:
Al-Tawheedwal Jihad
(Monotheism and Jihad)

It
is not known when or by what means Al-Zarqawi entered
Iraq.
Accounts of Al-Zarqawi's movements suggest that after
the fall of the Taliban, Al-Zarqawi went to Iran and it was from Iran
that he entered northern Iraq.
Former Iraqi interim prime ministerAyadAllawi speculated that Al-Zarqawi may have "infiltrated" into Iraq
in 1999. [11] If he was indeed in Iraq
in 1999, it would have been between his release from prison in Jordan and his departure to Pakistan.

King
Abdallah of Jordan
told the press that in 2002, Jordan
had asked Iraq to extradite
Al-Zarqawi following the murder of the U.S. diplomat Lawrence
Foley, but the Saddam regime had ignored the request. Most agree that Al-Zarqawi was definitely in Iraq
at the end of 2002, and that he was given shelter by the terrorist group Ansar Al-Islam(see below) which
operated from northern Iraq.
At some point, most likely after the occupation of Iraq in April 2003, he split
from Ansar Al-Islam and created his own organization,
which he called Al-Tawheedwal
Jihad ("Monotheism and Jihad"), an Islamist organization devoted to
the destruction of the apostate regimes in Islamic countries and the creation
of Islamist forms of government founded on strict adherence to the rules of the
Shari'a. This organization first came to world
attention when U.S.
citizen Nicholas Berg was beheaded in April 2004, under the banner of Al-Tawheedwal Jihad, allegedly by
Al-Zarqawi himself, and the event was videotaped and
posted on Islamist websites.

Provoking
the Iraqi Shi'a to Civil War

From
the September 2003 assassination of Ayatollah Al-Hakim to the present day, Al-Zarqawi has exerted all efforts, in word and action, to
provoke the Shi'a of Iraq to retaliate against the
Sunnis, thereby plunging the country into a civil war. Such a war could enhance
his status as defender of the Sunnis.

Al-Zarqawi adheres to the strictest version of Islam - Saudi Arabia's Wahhabism, which considers the Shi'a
to be apostates because they prefer the House of 'Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law
and the fourth Caliph in Islam, over the Hashemite House of Muhammad. Driven by
religious fervor, Al-Zarqawi directs most of his
invective, and often acts of terror, against Shi'ite
targets.

In
a letter written in Arabic which was discovered on a CD, apparently by the U.S., and
issued in English in January 2003, the author, said to be Al-Zarqawi, provides clearly articulated views of his
ideology. The identity of the person who was carrying the letter when it was
intercepted was not revealed by the U.S. officials, but it is alleged
that the discovery of the CD coincided with the arrest in Pakistan of Hassan Al-Ghull, described as a
courier of Al-Qa'ida. [12]

According
to Al-Zarqawi, the Shi'aare "the most evil of mankind." They are "the
lurking snake, the crafty and malicious scorpion, the spying enemy, and the
penetrating venom." They have been "a sect of treachery and betrayal
throughout history." Echoing the fourteenth century Sheikh ibnTaymiyya, whose writings are
considered the fountainhead of Wahhabism and Salafi Islam, Al-Zarqawi says:
"Beware of [the Shi'a]. Fight them. By God, they
lie." Reflecting the common Wahhabi doctrine, he
delivers the ultimate blow: "Shi'ism is a
religion that has nothing in common with Islam except in the way that Jews have
something in common with Christians under the banner of the People of the
Book." Their crime is "patent polytheism, worshipping at graves, and
circumambulating shrines."

Quoting
the major Islamic figure Al-Bukhari, who in the 9th
century compiled the most authoritative collection of traditions of the Prophet
Muhammad's sayings and deeds (Hadith), Al-Zarqawi wrote, "Not in the house [of prayer] have I
prayed behind a Shi'i or behind Jews or Christians.
They [Shi'a] are not to be greeted. They are not to
be congratulated on holidays. They are not to be taken in marriage. They cannot
bear witness. The animals they slaughter are not to be eaten."

In
the same letter, Al-Zarqawi divided Iraqis into
several categories of enemies:

Kurds:
Criticized as paying tribute to the Americans and providing them with
logistical support. They are "a thorn whose time to be clipped has yet to
come."

Rafidha,
or "renegades" (a euphemism for Shi'a):
Described as blasphemous for worshipping graves and deserting the Companions of
the Prophet. When the Saddam regime collapsed, the Rafidha
displayed their pent-up hatred of Sunnis by dominating the government's vital
security, military and economic establishments and dismissing Sunni technocrats
and intellectuals.

Soldiers
and police: The eyes, ears and hands of the occupier, through which he sees,
hears, and delivers violent blows. "Allah willing," wrote Al-Zarqawi, "we are determined to target them strongly in
the coming period…"

Clerics
and sheiks: Mostly hypocrite Sufis falsely calling for Jihad.

Americans:
"The most cowardly of God's creatures."

Al-Zarqawi did not spare the Sunnis, whom he characterized in
the letter as "more wretched than orphans at the tables of the
depraved."

After
denouncing the Shi'a in the most disparaging of
terms, he proceeded to provoke them "to show the Sunnis their rabies…and
bare the teeth of the hidden rancor working in their breasts." If we
succeed, he intoned, in "dragging them into the arena of sectarian war, it
will become possible to awaken the inattentive Sunnis as they feel imminent
danger and annihilating death at the hands of these Sabeans."
[13]

It
is not surprising that the Shi'ite press in Iraq refers to
Al-Zarqawi's network as "the Group of Apostasy
and Atheism" (Jama'at Al-Takfirwal-Ilhad). [14] It has become even more common in
the Shi'iteKarbala News
Network agency to refer to the various foreign terrorists as wahhabiyoun (Wahhabis). [15] The
same network has accused the Saudis as "stoking the fire of terrorism in Iraq."
[16]

The
attack on the Iraqi Shi'a suggests that the
relationship between Al-Zarqawi and Al-Qa'ida was tenuous at best because there is nothing on
record to suggest the existence of overt anti-Shi'a
statements by either bin Laden or his deputy Ayman
Al-Zawahiri.

Fallujah
– The Republic of
Zarqawi

By
its own admission, the Al-Tawheedwal-Jihad
group lacked a solid base of operation. A rather revealing report by Abu-Anas Al-Shami, one of Al-Zarqawi's closest associates who was
later killed, stated: "We have discovered that after one year of Jihad we
have not accomplished anything on the ground. None of us could find a piece of
land [the size of the palm of the hand] to use as a shelter or a place to
retire to safety amongst some members of [his] group…we would hide at day light
and sneak like a cat at night…homes were raided and the heroes were chased. It
was a dark picture and everyone felt a sense of terrible failure."

Given
their predicament, the group decided to use Fallujah
as "a safe haven and a strong shield for the people of Islam." And,
thus, Fallujah had become "the Republic of Al-Zarqawi." [17] This may also explain his desperate
appeal for help to the Islamic nation.

An
Appeal for Help

On
September 11, 2004, Al-Zarqawi delivered a speech to
the Islamic nation (Al -Umma Al-Islamiyya)
appealing for help. The speech was delivered in the ornate style of classical
Arabic and the entire speech was inlaid with Koranic
verses and poetry. The speech singled out Iraq's outgoing Prime Minister AyadAllawi as a primary target.

The
tone of the speech seemed to reflect the difficult circumstances under which
the foreign mujahideen were operating. Some of the
expressions used by Al-Zarqawi, such as "a call
for help from the depths," and references to the Islamic nation being in a
state of apathy or slumber, may indicate that Al-Zarqawi
felt he had not received enough support from Muslims outside Iraq:

"My
nation, the nation of the sword and the pen, why is it that your sword is now
broken and your pen has been laid down? You used to be prouder than the stars,
and have now become downtrodden under the feet of the invaders and under the
hooves of the usurpers' horses. My dear nation – my words to you today are
laden with sorrow. Don't you hear the serpents, hissing as they wind their way
in the darkness of your apathy in order to assassinate your dawn?...Let me tell
you about our state of affairs, for we are at the turning point, so that you
may understand the right course and combine forces, lest we regret, and this is
no time for regrets. Both those who are far away and those who are near
acknowledge the truth of the tripartite satanic coalition of heresy and deceit
in the land of the two rivers [bilad al-rafidain, or Mesopotamia].
The first are the Americans who carry the banner of the cross; the second are
the Kurds through their Peshmerga forces, under the command
of the two collaborators, [Mass'oud Al-] Barazani and [Jalal Al-] Talabani, which are reinforced by Jewish military cadres;
the third are the Shi'tes, the Sunnis' enemies,
represented by the Army of Treachery, the Badr Corps
[associated with SCIRI] – the Party of Satan." [18]

Resorting
to apocalyptic language, Al-Zarqawi told his
listeners: "…you are facing fierce civil strife [fitna],
but then victory shall be yours, Allah willing…Behold, the spark has been lit
in Iraq and its flames will blaze, Allah willing, until they consume the Armies
of the Cross in Dabiq…" [19]

Earlier
in that year, in January 2004, Al-Zarqawi challenged
the Arab masculinity to rise or surrender to women: "Oh people, the wheels
of war have begun to spin; the caller has already declared Jihad and the gates
of heaven are open [to the martyrs]. If you are unwilling to be one of the
knights of war, make way for the women so they can run the war, and you take
the cooking utensils and makeup [brushes] in their stead. If you are not women
in turbans and beards, go the horses and seize their harnesses and their
reins…" [20]

Al-Zarqawi Designated Commander (Amir)
of Al-Qa'ida in Iraq

As
far as can be established, Al-Zarqawi had initially
operated in Iraq
independently of Al-Qa'ida. However, in October 2004,
Al-Zarqawi, eager to extend his authority over all Jihadists in Iraq, pledged his allegiance (mubaya) to bin Laden and changed the name of his
organization from Al-Tawheedwal
Jihad to TandhimQa'idat
Al-Jihad fibilad Al-Rafidain (The Al-Qa'ida Jihad
Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers). [21] In what appears to be a
package deal, bin Laden announced, shortly afterwards, the designation of Al-Zarqawi as the head of Al-Qa'ida'sIraq
operations. In a message to the Iraqi people on the eve of the elections that
were scheduled for January 30, 2005, bin Laden said it was forbidden to
participate in them and, at the same time, designated Al-Zarqawi
as Amir, or commander of Al-Qa'ida
in Iraq:

"The
warrior commander [and] honored comrade Abu Mus'ab
Al-Zarqawi and the groups who joined him are the best
of the community that is fighting for the sake of the word of Allah. Their
courageous operations against the Americans and against the apostate Allawi government have gladdened us…

"We
in Al-Qa'ida organization very much welcome their
union with us. This is a tremendous step on the part of the unification of the
efforts in fighting for the establishment of a State of Truth and for the uprooting of the State of
the Lie…

"Know
that the warrior comrade Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi is the commander [Amir]
of Al-Qa'ida organization in the land of the Tigris
and the Euphrates, and the comrades in the
organization there must obey him…" [22]

In
the same message, bin Laden permitted the killing of members of the Iraqi
security forces: "Personnel of the [Iraqi] military, security apparatuses,
and the National Guard their blood is permitted. They are apostates who should
not be prayed over upon their deaths. They cannot inherit, and they must not be
inherited from [after their deaths]. Their wives are divorced from them, and
they must not be buried in Muslim cemeteries." [23]

Islamist
sources in Britain
criticized bin Laden's designation of Al-Zarqawi as Amir of the group
because Al-Qa'ida in the Land of the Two Rivers was
smaller than other terrorist organizations operating in Iraq, such as JayshAnsar Al-Sunna or Al-Jaysh Al-Islami. One anonymous speaker, known for his sympathy for
bin Laden, said the designation of Al-Zarqawi as
"Amir" caused "disappointment, envy
and jealousy in the minds of others." Another Islamist, the Egyptian Hani Al-Siba'i who heads Al-Maqrizi Studies Center in the U.K.,said
that bin Laden had designated Al-Zarqawi as Amir over one organization rather than over the entire
armed groups in Iraq and even this limited designation is qualified. He is Amir over those "Islamists who swear allegiance to him
[bin Laden] and who believe in the rules of Al-Qa'ida
in thought and program." [24]

The
Iraqi Al-Qa'ida Organization: A Self-Portrait

The
chief of Al-Qa'ida's media in Iraq, known as
Abu Maysara Al-Iraqi, discussed the identity of the
Iraqi Al-Qa'ida organization and outlined its aims.
His piece was published on-line in the first issue of the "Department of
Indoctrination" of the Al-Qa'ida organization in
Iraq under the title of "The Crest of the Summit of Islam (dhurwatsanam Al-Islam)" –
an expression commonly used to designate Jihad. [25]

According
to Abu-Maysara, Al -Qa'ida
in Iraq "comprises a group of Muslims from amongst the followers of the
tradition and the community of believers [Ahl al-SunnawalJama'a]
who try to please Allah by committing themselves to keep Allah's orders and
proscriptions and to see to it that others do so [as well]…. It has set itself
a number of central goals which are mutually interrelated and
complementary." In sum,, these goals seek to:

Renew
pure monotheism which was sullied by the filth of polytheistic elements

Wage
Jihad for the sake of Allah, so that His message be
supreme, and in order to recapture all of the lands of the Muslims from the
hands of the infidels

Come
to the aid of Muslims everywhere and reclaim the Islamic dignity which has been
soiled by the [foreign] invaders

Re-establish
the Rightly-Guided Caliphate in accordance with the Prophet's example

Underscoring
one of the prohibitions against spilling of "even a drop of Muslim blood
unjustly," Abu-Maysara excludes from this
prohibition the spilling of the blood of Muslim security forces as religiously
permissible. Thus, he condones operations that "kill those whose character
has become impure and who have joined the ranks of the infidels in their fight
against the Muslims in Iraq, that is members of the Iraqi army and the police
and spies who strengthen the Americans and help them commit crimes and rape our
sisters in the Abu Ghraib prison and other
places…"

Al-Zarqawi: Collateral Killing of Muslims is Legitimate

In
a 90-minute audio heard on the Internet on May 18, Al-Zarqawi
provided the legitimacy for the collateral killing of Muslims in the act of
killing the infidels. He relies on Muslim jurists for the legitimacy he
provides for such killing:

"The
[collateral killing] is justified under the principle of dharura
[overriding necessity], due to the fact that it is impossible to avoid them and
to distinguish between them and those infidels against whom war is being waged
and who are the intended targets. Admittedly, the killing of a number of
Muslims whom it is forbidden to kill is undoubtedly a grave evil; however, it
is permissible to commit this evil – indeed, it is even required – in order to
ward off a greater evil, namely, the evil of suspending Jihad."

Al-Zarqawi argues that the evil of heresy is greater than the
evil of collateral killing of Muslims. Thus: "Islamic law states that the
Islamic faith is more important than life, honor, property."
Not letting an opportunity escape without railing against the Shi'a, Al-Zarqawi said they were
worse than the Crusaders and that their "perfidy is engraved in the forehead
of history." [26]

In
the same audio, Al-Zarqawi announced the beheading of
the chief of intelligence of the Badr Brigade (a
militia associated with the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq) which he
characterized as "the brigade of perfidy, the brigade of apostasy and the
brigade of agents for Jews and Crusaders… His stinking head was severed to
expedite his departure to hell."

The
Glorification of Beheadings of Captives

The
method of killing of captives in Iraq varies, but the most horrendous
is the beheading of captives. [27] Videos posted on Islamist websites normally
show a group of militants, clad in black, in front of the banner of Al-Zarqawi's Al-Tawheedwal Jihad, with their victims kneeling before them. After
reading a statement, a member of the group leans over the bound and blindfolded
victim and severs his head with a knife. In one video, a Bulgarian was beheaded
and his bloody head set atop his prone corpse.

Writing
in Al-Qa'ida-related journal under the heading
"O Sheikh of the Slaughterers, Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, Go Forth in the Straight Path, Guided by
Allah," Abd Al-RahmanibnSalem Al-Shammari praised the beheading of an Egyptian citizen in Iraq. He
emphasized that a Muslim is obligated to be loyal to his religion only, and not
to his national identity or his country. Therefore, all non-believers are the
same, even if they are Arabs. The author went on to glorify the act of
beheading in the name of Allah:

"A
spy has been slain…and the Jihad fighter [who slew him] has come closer to
Allah by way of [the spy's] blood. Yet what is unique in this lowly spy whose
slaying we have seen these very days? What is unique,
and we ask of Allah that there be more [like him], is that a spy has been
slain, and this spy looked like an Arab, had an Arab name, and spoke Arabic!
The uniqueness lies in the triumph of the faith in the one God and in the
raising of the banner of 'There is no God but Allah' over and above all other
allegiances, be they of ethnicity, language, identity, or nationality."
[28]

After
condemning "the apostate tyrant Saddam Hussein," and "the wicked
rulers of the Arabian peninsula," the author, identifying his location as
Saudi Arabia, went on to extol Al-Zarqawi's feast of
beheadings:

"O
sheikh of the slaughterers, Abu Mus'ab, go forth in
the straight path with Allah's help, guided by Allah, fight together with the
monotheists against the idol-worshippers, together with the warriors of Jihad
against the collaborators, the hypocrites and the rebellious. We are awaiting the beheading of a Saudi apostate and this is the
will and testament of all the monotheists in the land
of Al-Haramain
[i.e., the two holy places of Mecca and Medina]." [29]

The
Infallible Abu Mus'ab

Nothing
demonstrates the loyalty and devotion of Al-Zarqawi's
followers to their leader more than their reaction to what appeared to be a
critical article by his former prison mentor Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi. In July 2004, Al-Maqdisi
posted on his website an article titled "Al-Zarqawi-Aid
and Advice," in which he wrote:

"I
say and stress that I am listening to and following the chaos that rages today
in Iraq…
blowing up cars or setting roadside explosives, by firing mortars in the
streets and marketplaces, and other places where Muslims congregate. The hands
of the Jihad fighters must remain clean so that they will not be stained by the
blood of those who must not be harmed even if they are rebellious and
shameless…You must also beware of entanglement by choosing means [of warfare]
that are not illegal in the Shari'a."

Al-Maqdisi went on to warn against means and methods such as
abducting or killing Muslims on pretexts not based on Islamic law such as the
claim that they work for the infidels "where such acts do not reach the
[level] of aid to the infidels or aid in harming Muslims." Quite
interestingly, Al-Maqdisi warned against attacks on
Christian churches, because this strengthens the will of the infidels against
Muslims everywhere. [30]

The
Jihad fighters were enraged by the article, for they see Al-Zarqawi
as "a divine grace," and believe it heresy for anyone – even Al-Zarqawi's teacher and guide, Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi – to think he made a mistake.

Al-Zarqawi Denounces Democracy and Constitutionalism in Iraq

A
week before the elections were to take place on January 30, 2005, Al-Zarqawi addressed the Iraqi people in a speech denouncing
democracy and the elections as heresy. In the speech, delivered January 23 and
posted on Islamist websites, Al-Zarqawi presented
seven aspects of the heretical nature of democracy:

In
a democracy, legislative authority is performed by representatives who act as
proxies for the people. As such, man must be obeyed, not Allah – which is
"the very essence of heresy, polytheism, and error."

Democracy
allows freedom of religion, including the conversion to another religion.
According to Islam, "if a Muslim apostatizes from Islam to heresy, he
should be killed." He added that "One may not make a [peace] treaty
with an apostate, nor grant him safe passage or protection."

Democracy
renders the people the ultimate source of sovereignty and the ultimate arbiter
on conflicts. In Islam, Allah is the ultimate arbiter. Allah said: "And in
whatever thing you disagree, the judgment thereof belongs to Allah [Koran
42:10]."

"Freedom
of expression" in democracy would allow the use of language that might be
hurting and reviling the Divine Being [i.e., Allah]

The
principle of separation between religion and state means secularism and the
restricting of Allah only to places of worship

The
principle of freedom of association ought to be rejected because it could allow
membership in a heretical parties, which implies acquiescence in heresy

The
principle of the rule of majority is "totally wrong and void because truth
according to Islam is that which is in accordance with the Koran and the Sunna [i.e., the tradition of the Prophet], whether its
supporters are few or many."

Three
days later, Al-Zarqawi issued a dire warning:

"1. Oh enemies of Islam! Prepare yourselves and fortify whatever you like,
wear as much armor as you can. We have men who love death as you love life. Our
fallen [go to] heaven and yours to hell…

"2.
Take care not to go near the centers of heresy and abomination [i.e., polling
booths]

In
the same message, Al-Zarqawi characterized Grand
Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani as "the devil" and
the "imam of apostasy and atheism" and called on his people to be
patient because Allah had promised victory against the American
"tyrant." [32]

A
group calling itself "The Assassination Unit in the Monotheism and Jihad
Organization" sent a letter to elections committee chief FaridAyyar, threatening the
murder of elections committee members and their families if they remained in
their posts. [33]

About
a month before Al-Zarqawi issued his statement
against participation in the Iraqi elections, bin Laden issued a similar
warning, that "anyone who participates in these elections has committed
apostasy against Allah." It is apostasy because the Iraqi constitution is
"a jahiliyya constitution that is made by
man" and because the elections are "ordered by America, under
their airplanes, bombs, and tanks." [34]

Following
the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Iraq in mid-May
2005, and her subsequent appeal to the Iraqi government to give the Sunnis a
bigger role in the drafting of the constitution than had been envisaged, Al-Qa'ida in the Land of the Two Rivers reacted. It warned the
Sunnis against participating in the drafting of the constitution because those
who did so would be "sell[ing] their religion
for the vanities of the world." Al-Qa'ida in Iraq referred
to Rice as "a hag who came to defile the land of the Caliphate." The
statement, dated May 16, threatened Rice: "Our religion dictates that the
sword and the bullets is the dialogue between us and you, O worshippers of the
cross." [35]

The
Union between Al-Tawheed
and Al-Qa'ida

Al-Qa'ida was greatly weakened after the loss of its base in Afghanistan.
Its two principal leaders, bin Laden and his deputy Dr. Ayman
Al-Zawahiri, have been on the run, with a heavy prize
placed on their heads. Their ability to communicate with their followers has
been curtailed by intelligence and hot pursuit.

In
the meantime, the attention of all potential Jihadists
was drawn to the exploits of Al-Zarqawi in Iraq, which has
become the sublime location for those seeking martyrdom. It has become the
preferred and, indeed, the ideal place for Jihad against the Americans. Each
perceived success on the ground by Zarqawi's group
generated more Jihadists and more money, primarily
from wealthy Saudi and other Gulf individuals. Porous borders with Syria made it
possible for both money and people to move with ease.

Al-Zarqawi's oath of allegiance (mubaya'a)
to bin Laden and the latter's designation of Al-Zarqawi
as the Amir of Al-Qa'ida in
Iraq may have helped the cause of both men, although one tends to consider Al-Zarqawi as getting the better end of the deal:

Access
to bin Laden's traditional sources of funding,
particularly in Saudi Arabia
and the Gulf countries

A
global reach (hitherto it was local or, at best, regional) [36]

Expanded
base of volunteers, particularly from Saudi
Arabia (recent figures show that 61 percent of the 490 terrorists
killed in Iraq
were of Saudi origin).

Benefits
for bin Laden

Forestalling
the emergence of Al-Zarqawi as the leader of global
Jihad movement

Associating Al-Qa'ida with
an organization that has established a record of "accomplishments"
and, as a result, has increased Al-Qa'ida's exposure
and its intrinsic stature among the Jihadists. This has come at a time when Al-Qa'ida
has been silenced by successive blows, which have constrained its ability to
operate except with a fraction of freedom that it had enjoyed under the
Taliban.

The
Strength of the Union

An
examination of Al-Zarqawi's behavior in the last
decade will cast a heavy shadow on his new partnership with bin Laden:

In
the Al-Sawaqa desert prison in Jordan in
1994-99, Al-Zarqawi was a member of a group of
prisoners under the imara of his spiritual mentor
Sheikh Abu-Muhammad Al-Maqdisi. In 1996, Al-Zarqawi engineered a coup that expelled and replaced Al-Maqdisi as Amir. Henceforth, the
teacher was to receive orders from his former student. Al-Maqdisi
was relegated to the status of a scholar.

When
he went to Afghanistan
with a group of his friends and supporters, he insisted, and the Taliban
acquiesced to his demand, that he would operate his camp independently of bin
Laden. During his time in Afghanistan,
he, unlike all Arab Jihadists, refused to swear
allegiance to bin Laden who was at that time at the zenith of his power and
influence.

When
he arrived in Iraq
in 2002, he was given shelter and support by Ansar
Al-Islam. He soon broke away to establish his own organization, Al-Tawheedwal-Jihad.

These
instances demonstrate Al-Zarqawi's inability, or
unwillingness, to work under a superior authority, whether spiritual or
organizational. One suspects that sooner or later he will also break away from
bin Laden and perhaps even seek to replace him as the supreme leader of Al-Qa'ida. In fact, given the two men's difficulties in
communicating on a regular basis, it is not clear how bin Laden would control
Al-Zarqawi even if he tried to do so.

Collapse
of the Ba'th in Iraq – Good Omen for Islamists

Anti-democratic
convictions are not new for Al-Qa'ida, which
considers man-made rule as inherently contradictory to the rule of Allah. In a
book titled The Future of Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula after the Fall of
Baghdad, published on an Al-Qa'ida website, author Yusuf bin Saleh Al-'Ayiri (subsequently killed by Saudi security forces) wrote:

"The
collapse of the Ba'th government is good for Islam
and the Muslims because it is a collapse of the apostate nationalist slogans
that have permeated the Islamic nation. For after communism, Arab nationalism,
secularism and modernity, the Islamic banner, which has remained steadfast
through history, will replace all the failed non-Islamic appeals regardless of
their principles."

In
short, the collapse of the Ba'th is good for Islam,
and democracy is "the most wicked of the all types of secularism; it means
bestiality." [37]

The
Size of the Al-Zarqawi Group

The
size of the Al-Zarqawi group is not known, although
it is most likely changing with the influx of would-be "martyrs" and
the demise of others through the acts of suicide bombing, death through clashes
with the multinational and Iraqi forces, and capture.

Some
estimates put the group in the thousands. The Iraqi daily Al-Mada estimates the number of the group in the hundreds, and
this may be closer to reality than some other wild estimates. [38] The reason
this lower estimate seems more likely to be accurate is that a much larger
group would require a much more formal command and control structure that would
be made more vulnerable to counter-terrorism efforts. Besides, car bombs and
suicide bombers are primarily individualist activity, rather than group
activity.

Intensification
of Violence

The
expectations that violence would subside following the elections have not
materialized. On the contrary, it has intensified. It has been reported that at
least 60 car bombs exploded in Baghdad
a week after the new Iraqi government was formed. [39] There is no single
explanation for the intensification of violence in recent weeks, although one
can speculate about some of the causes:

First,
the leading political parties failed to take advantage of the impressive voting
momentum to form a new government. The protracted negotiations following the
elections had left a political vacuum which was exploited by the terrorists and
the insurgents.

Second,
the insurgents are encouraged by their mastery of new tactics and by the
logistical support they have been receiving from some segments of the Iraqi
population.

Third,
the neighboring countries have not stopped the tide of volunteer Jihadists determined to achieve martyrdom in Iraq.

Closing
in on Al-Zarqawi

In
a series of raids on Al-Qa'ida bases in Iraq, many key
Al-Zarqaqi aides were either killed or captured. Some
of those captured were able to provide useful information on Al-Zarqawi's movements, mode of operation, finances, and
hiding places. Among those who provided important information on Al-Zarqawi was one of his key aides, Fadhil
Hussein Ahmad Al-Kurdi (26), also known as Abu Ubaida Al-Kurdi, who was arrested
in January 15, 2005 in Baghdad.
His brother, Omar Bazyani, a member of the same
terrorist network, was arrested May 2004 by the multinational forces. [40] Al-Kurdi is accused of coordinating the movement of terrorists
inside and outside Iraq.
Also arrested was HassanHamad
Abdullah Muhsin Al-Dulaimi,
who was in charge of the propaganda activities for the network. [41] Two other
aides, arrested in January, are 'Inad Muhammad Qais, Al-Zarqawi's senior
military adviser, and Saleh Suleiman Al-Lehaybi, who was in charge of Al-Zarqawi's
network in Baghdad.

The
Iraqi security forces arrested HeikalLobus, known as Abu Ali Al-Lubnani,
who was a leader of a group of 48 terrorists in the Latifiya
area. The terrorists were nationals of Iraq,
Syria, Palestine
and Iran.
HeikalLobus is the husband
of Al-Zarqawi's sister. [42]

Al-Zarqawi'sAmir in the northern
city of Mosul
is Muhammad KhalafShakir,
a.k.a. Abu Talha. His assistant, Abd
Al-AzizSa'doun Ahmad Hamdouni (35), known as Agha Abu
Ahmad, was arrested on December 30, 2004. [43] Abu-Talha
himself was arrested in Mosul by the American forces with
the help of the Kurdish Peshmerga. It was also reported
that documents and material that could be used for the construction of chemical
and biological weapons were also confiscated. [44] About a week later, the
arrest of Maj. General (Liwaa) AbdDaoud Suleiman, one of the founders of Jaish Muhammad (Army of Muhammad) and a military adviser to
Al-Zarqawi, was reported. [45]

A
significant arrest was that of Al-Zarqawi's driver,
who was captured after his boss jumped out of a car and fled. However, Al-Zarqawi's laptop computer was seized; this could provide
valuable information on his network and sources of funding. [46] It has been
reported that the hard drive contained information about Al-Zarqawi's
medical condition and a trove of valuable information. [47]

The
Medical Status of Al-Zarqawi

Major
General Fu'adHani Fares,
commander of the 5th Brigade of the Iraqi Army, has told the press that Al-Zarqawi suffered a serious injury, or may have been killed,
in an air raid on his hideout in the city of Al-Qa'im. [48] The
Sunday Times reported that the American forces were questioning a physician in
a Ramadi hospital (in the capital of Al-Anbar province, in the Sunni triangle) about providing
medical assistance to Al-Zarqawi. [49] Al-Zarqawi was reported bleeding profusely from an injury
sustained in the battle at Al-Qa'im, on the Syrian
border, where Iraqi and multinational forces clashed with Al-Zarqawi's supporters.

On
May 24, a man identifying himself as "Abu-Maysara
Al-Iraqi from the Information Section of Al-Qa'ida in
the Land of the Two Rivers" posted an appeal to Muslims to pray for Al-Zarqawi who had sustained injuries whose nature was not
revealed. Here are some phrases in the appeal posted on the website of Al-Qal'ah (associated with Al-Qa'ida):

"O
nation of Islam, nation of monotheism. Pray for the healing of our Sheikh Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi from an injury
he suffered in the path of Allah. You are [Al-Zarqawi]
the beloved of the mujahideen, and may Allah heal you
and make you steadfast. Our Sheikh has taught us that nothing is worthy
compared to Islam." [50]

After
much confusion about Al-Zarqawi's medical condition,
Al-Zarqawi denied he was seriously injured in an
audio message attributed to him and addressed to bin Laden. He told bin Laden:
"I would like to assure you that these are all rumors [about his serious
injury] and they are entirely baseless. My wounds were light."
Uncharacteristically, he signed his message, "from jundi
to Amir" (i.e. from a private to a commander).
[51] The London
daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat
quotes CIA experts who confirm that the voice on the message was that of Al-Zarqawi. [52]

The
Use of Internet and Television as Instruments of Warfare

One
of the ironies of Islamist movements is that while they advocate an Islamic
society governed entirely by the Shari'a, they do not
hesitate to use the technical marvels of Western civilization – Internet and
television – to propagate their causes. Al-Sharq Al-Awsat underscores the paradox when it refers to the demands
by "the extremist Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qa'ida
in the Land of the Two Rivers" who calls for a return to doctrines of
Islam but depends on the technology of the 21st century…." [53]

Al-Jazeera TV has also played a significant role in extolling
the heroism of the fighters, mainly Al-Zarqawi
supporters, in the city of Fallujah when it was
attacked by the Iraqi and multinational forces last November. According to
Iraqi sources cited in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, the battle of Fallujah in
November 2004 was led by Omar Hadeed, who had been
one of Saddam's private guards. In the early 1990s, Hadeed
had become associated with Islamist groups, and fled to Afghanistan for
training in Al-Qa'ida camps. He may have returned to Iraq in 2001
after Saddam issued his blanket amnesty to both those who were in prison and
those who were being sought by the justice system. Hadeed
and another member of Al-Zarqawi group were killed in
Fallujah after, according to the Al-Zarqawi audio, helping to kill American soldiers "like
flies." [54]

During
the battle of Fallujah, Al-Jazeera
TV often aired what might be considered biased coverage alleging the killing of
women and children by the American forces, but kept silent about the casualties
suffered by the multinational and Iraqi forces seeking to clear the city of the
terrorist elements. It was later realized that the Al-Jazeera's
station manager in Baghdad
was HamidHadeed, the
brother of Omar. A third brother and his family were killed after their house
was bombed shortly after Omar Hadeed visited them.
[55] The Iraqi government has since shut down Al-Jazeera's
offices in Iraq,
accusing the station of propagating violence.

The
Terrorist's Last Night

One
of the surprising aspects of Al-Zarqawi's operations
is the availability of almost endless number of volunteers prepared to commit acts
of martyrdom. These individuals are deeply, perhaps fanatically, religious.
They are determined to seek martyrdom and reach the gates of heaven as soon as
an opportunity presents itself. Some of these volunteers spend their last night
on Earth reading the Koran and praying. Others seek solitude. In some instance,
the volunteers participate in ceremony known as "the wedding of the
martyr," as they celebrate the ascendancy of the groom to heaven and into
the arms of 72 Houries. [56] In one such event, which
took place post-mortem, involved a suicide bomber from Salt Jordan who caused
the death of more than 100 Iraqis in the city of Hila, in Southern Iraq.
His parents celebrated the occasion with a big feast that brought the
Iraqi-Jordanian relationship to rupture. [57]

Summary

The
only time Al-Zarqawi was heard in public was during
his trial before the State
Security Court in Jordan in 1994. During the
subsequent decade, he has either been in prison, in Afghanistan,
or somewhere in Iraq.
Since 2004, he has sent many messages and delivered many speeches, all of which
were pre-recorded and posted on the Internet.

Al-Zarqawi's speeches are characterized by the preponderance
of verses from the Koran and elements of the Hadith,
using both as a means of justifying whatever he was doing as an act rooted in
Islam. From reading his speeches, one can discern a number of messages:

The inevitability of the creation of the Islamic state
governed only by the Koran and the Sunna [the
religious rules established by the Prophet]. In an Islamic state, there will be no parliament,
rules, or laws other than those of the Koran.

The
belief in ultimate victory because Allah has so promised

A call for monotheism. Secular rulers are tyrants and apostates (in Islam,
an apostate must be killed). Monotheism will turn Muslims and all the deprived
people from a state of weakness and backwardness into a recognizable force that
will restore justice and defeat all manifestations of oppressions practiced by
the great powers.

Exhortative
calls for mobilizing soldiers to fight the enemies of Islam

Calls for Jihad until martyrdom. A martyr is destined for heaven.

Criticism
of Muslim clerics for failing to play a leading role in mobilizing the
believers to fight the heretics and the enemies of Islam

Deep hostility toward the Shi'a
as a branch of Islam.

Regarding
the last message, it should be noted that nowhere in the writings and speeches
of either bin Laden or Al-Zawahiri is there an anti-Shi'a message. This alone may give further credence to the
theory that Al-Zarqawi operated independently from
Al-Qa'ida whose declared enemies are "Jews and
Crusaders" (i.e., Christians).

ANNEX
I: Major Armed Islamic Groups in Iraq

Qa'idat
Al-Jihad FiBilad Al-Rafidain (Al-Qa'ida for Jihad in
the Land of the Two Rivers)

The
key terrorist organization headed by Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, born as Ahmad Fadhil Al-Khalaila in Al-Zarqaa, Jordan.
Previously known as Monotheism and Jihad [Al-Tawheedwal-Jihad].

Responsible
for a large number of car bombs and suicide bombers as well beheadings of
captives. Draws mainly on Jihadist
fighters from outside Iraq
for the suicide bombings. However, it was reported by an American senior
military official that Al-Zarqawi's network has been
expanding with the enrollment of Iraqi Islamists into its ranks. [58]

The
organization remains the primary target of the multinational and the Iraqi
security forces.

Ansar
Al-Islam (Defenders of Islam)

Established on December 10, 2001 by the merger of
three Islamist groups – Jund Al-Islam (The Soldiers
of Islam), Kurdish Hamas, and Harakat
Al-Tawheed (the Monotheism Movement). The key leader was Mullah FatehKraikar (his real name is Najm
Al-Din Faraj).

Ansar
Al-Islam is a JihadistSalafi
movement influenced by the writing of SayyidQutb and the military program of the Egypt terrorist
group Al-Gamaah Al-Islamiyya
at a time when it adhered to Jihad.

In
an interview with the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Mullah Kraikar said that he had met with bin Laden only once, in a
stately villa in Peshawar, Pakistan, which belonged to a Saudi
prince. Seven other Saudis were present in the meeting. He claimed in the
interview that the purpose of the meeting was to seek financial help for the
victims of Halabja. [59]

According
to a study by Dr. Hani Al-Siba'i,
the head of the Maqrizi Center for Historical Studies
in the U.K, the organizational chart of this group shows one Amir and two deputies in addition to the Military
Committee, the Legal (Shari'a) committee, the public
relations committee and the security committee.

Following
9/11, Mullah Kraikar sought a ceasefire with the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with which it had had many bloody clashes.
However, the ceasefire was ruptured following an attempt on the life of Dr. BarhamSaleh, who was at the time
prime minister of the PUK region. Saleh, a
naturalized U.S. citizen,
was accused by Kraikar of being the key CIA man in Kurdistan. He is currently the Minister of Planning and
Development in the Iraqi government.

The
group's main camp, which was located in Biyara, Iraqi
Kurdistan, had been bombed by the U.S. Air Force in March 2003. Many were
killed. Survivors were taken to Assayish Prison in Suleimaniyya, Iraqi Kurdistan.

The
group took responsibility for the suicide bombings at the headquarters of the
Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in February 2004
which resulted in the death of 109 people.

Ansar
Al-Islam sheltered Al-Zarqawi when he fled from Iran before the occupation of Iraq. There is no
information on the level of collaboration, if any, between the Ansar and Al-Zarqawi.

The
group has allegedly experimented with chemical weapons.

Mullah
Kraikar is currently in Norway,
but the Norwegian government announced recently that it would extradite him to Iraq as soon as
conditions permit.

JayshAnsar Al-Sunna (The Army of the
Defenders of the Prophet's Conduct)

Believed to be a splinter group of Ansar
Al-Islam.Created
as a Salafi group five months after Iraq's occupation. It is
headed by Abu Abdullah Al-Hassan bin Mahmud. He was the one who deceptively announced on the
Internet that he had beheaded the Marine of Lebanese origin, Wassif Ali Hassoon. He also
alleged responsibility for the attack on branches of the two main Kurdish
parties which resulted in the death of 109 people and the injury of many,
including American soldiers. All its statements are signed by "the
military body of JayshAnsar
Al-Sunna."

This
group took responsibility for the December 2004 suicide bombing at the U.S. army mess.

The
Kurds arrested in Erbil
(Iraqi Kurdistan) 40 members of a network which belongs to Ansar
Al-Sunna. They were planning big operations in
Kurdistan, to turn the territory into another Baghdad. [60]

The
organization threatened to execute a Filipino hostage unless the Philippines withdrew its small contingent of
about 60 soldiers from Iraq.
The Philippines
capitulated to the threat, and the individual in question was released. The
video was shown on Al-Jazeera TV on July 7, 2004.

In
mid-July 2004, the group issued "a warning to the Italian people"
demanding the withdrawal of the Italian military from Iraq or face
"fleets of car bombs."

Al-Kata'ib Al-Salafiya Al-MujahidaFiBilad
Al-Rafidain (SalafiteJihadist Brigades in the Land of the Two Rivers)

The
announcement about the creation of this organization was issued in early March
2005, shortly before the first meeting of the recently elected Iraqi National
Assembly.

The
organization declared that it was founded on the pure Salafi
program. It distanced itself from "excessiveness, secularists, Ba'thists, Saddamists, and from
those who seek to re-establish the buried Ba'thist state."
It did say that it was a Sunni organization.

The
London daily
Al-Hayat which published the group's announcement on
March 24, 2005, has hinted that there may be "suspicious fingers"
behind this organization.

[1]
Excerpts from two of the three articles were translated by MEMRI and published
as Special Dispatch No. 848, January 17, 2005
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP84805. The
articles were originally published by Al-Hayat (London) on December 14
and 15, 2004.

[2]
Al-Hayat, July 14, 2004.

[3]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, February
9, 2005.

[4]
Al-Quds Al-Arabi, May 15,
2005.

[5]
Al-Mada (Baghdad)
May 17, 2005.

[6]
Al-Hayat (London),
November 17, 2005.

[7]
Loc. cit.

[8]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), July 14, 2004.

[9]
This section draws on a book called Al-Zarqawi – The
Second Generation of Al-Qa'ida, serialized in 14
installments in the London
daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi
between May 15 and June 7, 2005.

[18]
A transcript of the speech was posted the following day on many Islamic
websites. The person who posted the transcript called himself the "Glimmer
of the Swords" and referred to Al-Zarqawi as
"The Sheikh and Commander of Slaughterers." The speech was translated
by MEMRI, in Special Dispatch No. 785, September 15, 2004.

[19]
A prophetic tradition (Hadith), which is often quoted
in the Islamic apocalyptic literature, states that one of the events heralding
the Last Day of Judgment will take place in Dabiq.
The Mahdi (Muslim Messiah) will destroy the armies of
the infidels that will have assembled in A'maq and Dabiq. The traditional explanation is that these are two
places in the area of northern Aleppo, in
northern Syria.
Al-Zarqawi is clearly referring to this apocalyptic
tradition.

[25]
http://www.islam-minbar.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topicid=1688&forum=3
and translated by MEMRI, Special Dispatch No. 884, March 24, 2005.

[26]
Translated by MEMRI, Special Dispatch No. 917, June 7, 2005. A book titled Haqiqat Al-harb Al-salibiyya Al-jadidah (The Truth
about the New Crusading War) by a Gulf cleric associated with bin Laden
provides a number of conditions justifying the killing of hostages. Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), February 4, 2003.

[27]
See Timothy Furnish, "Beheading in the Name of Islam," Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2005.

[30]
http//www.Abu-qatada.com/r?=2979&a=p See also Al-Zaman (Baghdad),
October 30, 2004.

[31]
MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 856, February 1, 2005.

[32]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), January 21,
2005.

[33]
Al-Shiraa (Baghdad),
November 1, 2004.

[34]
Jahiliyya refers to the pre-Islamic era. A reference
to a Jahiliyya constitution would suggest a
constitution that is not founded on Islamic values and jurisprudence. The full
version of the speech can be found at http://www.dazzled.com/soiraq/index.htm.
MEMRI possesses an audio recording of this message.

[35]
Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), May 17, 2005.

[36]
The Spanish police arrested 16 Islamists (14 Moroccans and two Algerians), with
a base in Syria,
including 11 suspected of association with Al-Zarqawi's
group. Al-Sharq Al-Awsat,
June 15, 2005.

[37]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), August 29, 2003.

[38]
Al-Mada (Baghdad),
January 14, 2005.

[39]
Al-Hayat (London), May 5, 2005.

[40]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, December
31, 2004.

[41]
Al-Mada, January 25, 2005.

[42]
Al-Mada, April 14, 2005.

[43]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, January
7, 2005.

[44]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, June 8,
2005.

[45]
Al-Sabah (Baghdad),
June 17, 2005.

[46]
Al-Sabah, May 7, 2005.

[47]
The Christian Science Monitor, April 27, 2005.

[48]
Al-Zaman (Baghdad), May 14, 2005.

[49]
Reported in Al-Mada, May 17, 2005.

[50]
www.qal3ah.net/vb/showthread.php?t=125834.

[51]
Karbalanews, June 1, 2005.

[52]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), June 1, 2005.

[53]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), June 2, 2005.

[54]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), January 20,
2005.

[55]
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), November 19,
2004.

[56]
www.irakna.com.

[57]
MEMRI, "Iraqi-Jordanian Tension Over the Most Lethal Suicide Bombing in Iraq,"
Inquiry and Analysis No. 214, March 29, 2005.